Bug FAQLittle Cigarette Harlequin Moth
Atteva pustulella · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Attevidae
The little cigarette harlequin moth belongs to the Attevidae family. It lives from Costa Rica down through Uruguay and Argentina and is also found in the Antilles.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
It is called the little cigarette harlequin moth and is in the family Attevidae.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It is found from Costa Rica south to Uruguay and Argentina, and also on the Antilles.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Its range extends from Costa Rica through Uruguay and Argentina and includes the Antilles.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
It occurs in the same area as Atteva aurea, a related species.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 41 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Texas, Ohio, Virginia, North Carolina, Illinois, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What do the caterpillars of the little cigarette harlequin moth eat?
They feed only on the new shoots of the tree Simarouba amara.
Source: Wikipedia
Where is the little cigarette harlequin moth found?
From Costa Rica down to Uruguay and Argentina, and also on the Antilles.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Attevidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atteva_pustulella
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.